Eagle's Nest
by LadyRin98790
Summary: The Animus 2.0 has malfunctioned and the Templars have found the hideout. Read to find out about what happens! Pairings to be listed later. Read and Review! Chapter 3 is up!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- I do not own Assassin's Creed, its storyline, or characters; however, all OC's are mine and so is some of this story line as it is a figment of my imagination. So I guess I shall start.

Chapter 1- Malfunction

"We'll hold off Abstergo while you pack up." Lucy called across the room as Desmond emerged from the Animus 2.0.

"Alright!." Rebecca Crane said as she began packing immediately after her "baby" shut down. Lucy made her way quickly over towards her desk and removed something from a draw.

"Here Desmond," Lucy paused throwing the object towards the man. He caught it with ease and smiled as he felt the familiar hidden blade though he had never truly held it before. "Let's go!" Lucy ran for the exit and Desmond quickly followed. Rebecca jumped as the Animus 2.0 began smoking.

"NO! What the hell's going on, it shouldn't be doing this!" Rebecca screamed as Shaun came up beside her.

"Could it have overheated?" Shaun inquired as a cloud of smoke rose up around the Animus 2.0 and filled the room with a hazy fog. "Bloody hell...what's going on?" Rebecca peered through the smoke to check her machine.

"I can't tell through all this damn smoke!" Rebecca exclaimed in exasperation before jumping back as the Animus sent a flurry of sparks towards Shaun and herself. "Ah! What is going on?" Rebecca sighed before moving back towards the Animus 2.0. "Shaun get a fan going to we can clear out the smoke and get out of here!" Shaun nodded and ran over to the fan they kept in the corner.

"Where's the bloody switch?" Shaun mumbled cursing whatever had malfunctioned in the Animus 2.0 as he couldn't see a thing. "Ah, there we go." Shaun said as he got the fan working and the room started to clear. Rebecca looked over at him.

"Come on! We have to pack up!" Rebecca exclaimed rushing to get the Animus 2.0 packed and ready to move. Shaun nodded in agreement and ran to his area to pack up his computer.

After a few minutes Shaun finished and moved to help Rebecca. That was when he noticed two people lying on the other side of the Animus 2.0. Rebecca had been so busy with running a quick test that she hadn't noticed them. "Shaun? What are you doing?" asked Rebecca. Shaun ignored her and flipped over the first person.

"Wait...how the hell?" Shaun mumbled before checking for a pulse. Rebecca came up behind him, saw what he was doing, and ran over to the other unknown to check on him too.

"Shaun, are these who I think they are?" Rebecca inquired after assuring a pulse was present. Shaun stood us from where he was squatting and nodded.

"I believe so, somehow, the Animus 2.0 brought Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Altair Ibn-La'Ahad from the genetic memories of Desmond..." Shaun's voice trailed off. "We need to get them into the back of the van." Rebecca nodded and lifted Altair up.

"I'll get Altair, you get Ezio." said Rebecca as she rushed over to the back of the hideout to where the van was stored. Shaun followed close behind with Ezio, deeply regretting having not lifted weights more often. _I swear I will work out more often after this,_ Shaun thought.

"Go Rebecca, I'll get them in, you go and continue your work on the Animus 2.0." Rebecca set Altair down, nodded towards Shaun, and ran back to the main room. Shaun sighed as he set Ezio on a bench on one side of the van and rushed to get Altair to the other. _Now to get the rest of the equipment,_ Shaun sighed and ran back to the room hoping the two assassins would not wake up.  
_

"Desmond?" Lucy called. The twenty-five year old stared at the empty space that had once held Dr. Warren Vidic before he had fled the warehouse, giving the group the time, and unwatched, escape they needed.

"I'm coming Lucy." Desmond said turning towards her and running ahead to the hideout upstairs.

"You did well," Lucy said as she ran behind him. Desmond's response was a grunt as they reached the hallway leading to the hideout.

"Um Lucy? Why is the hallway filled with smoke?" asked Desmond and he was not surprised when Lucy did not respond. "Lucy?" Desmond laid a hand on the blond woman's petite, but muscular, shoulder. Lucy shook her head to clear the thoughts from her mind.

"Sorry, we're wasting time, we need to go." Lucy said as she gently pushed Desmond's hand away and smiled. "Rebecca? Shaun?" Lucy called into the empty room. The Animus 2.0 and the rest of the computers, plus Shaun's information board, were gone. Rebecca came out from a door in the farthest corner of the spacious room.

"We're ready to go Lucy," Rebecca paused looking like she wanted to add something else. Lucy raised a slender eyebrow, giving Rebecca the indication to continue. "Right," She nodded and waved a hand so they would follow. "My baby kind of...um, gave us some presents..." Rebecca paused again as they had reached the van. Lucy looked at Desmond and he merely rolled his eyes. He had no clue what Rebecca was going on about.

"Rebecca, get on with it! We don't know how much time we have!" Lucy exclaimed, she was quite feed up with Rebecca's antics.

"Alright, just get in the van." She threw open the van's cargo hold doors and waved them inside. "Get us out of here Shaun!" Rebecca hollered and pounded on the metal divider between the front seats and them.

"Alright alright, getting us out of here. You are awfully impatient." Shaun responded. Rebecca smirked.

"Tell that to our friends at Abstergo!" Rebecca shouted. Lucy rolled her eyes at their words; their situation was no joking matter. Desmond grabbed the overhead railing as the van rocketed away.

"Shaun! Please try not to kill us; we already have enough people attempting that." Lucy shouted her voice dripping with sarcasm. She made to sit alongside the cargo hold's wall but noticed that the bench was already occupied. "Rebecca? Why is Ezio in our van?" Rebecca sank into her chair beside the Animus 2.0.

"I'm still trying to figure it out, Altair is the other lump." said Rebecca as she pointed to the other bench where Altair was resting. Desmond carefully crept over to Altair to examine him. "Something happened with my baby..." Rebecca looked over to Desmond to see him examining something on Altair's shoulder. "Uh Desmond? What the hell are you doing?" Desmond looked up from the translucent marking he was looking at.

"Lucy, look for a symbol on Ezio's right shoulder." Desmond said ignoring Rebecca's question. Lucy nodded and moved some of the fabric covering Ezio's shoulder aside. Desmond made his way over to her side to look as well.

"It looks like the brotherhood's symbol Desmond...why would this be on Ezio?" inquired Lucy as she watched Desmond make his way over to the Animus 2.0 to sit down.

"It's...a long story." He paused to avoid falling off the Animus 2.0 as Shaun hit a bump.

"Sorry about that, there was a small bump in the road." Shaun explained through the window he had just opened to speak with them. "We've got plenty of time for a long story mate." Desmond sighed before he spoke.

"You all saw Subject 16's..." Desmond paused. "No he had a name, a life, _outside _of Abstergo." Lucy shook her head.

"No one knows what his name was Desmond, he never told anyone. Plus it was before I began working with Dr. Vidic." said Lucy but Desmond cleared his throat to interrupt her.

"No," Desmond said his voice defiant. "His name was Dominic and he was my brother."

A/N- Okay! I am so glad I finally wrote this…maybe I can finally write some of my other stories. Anywho, I am now a high school graduate! YAY! Okay I posted this on deviantArt so I am posting it here now! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!

~LadyRin98790


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I do not own Assassin's Creed, its storyline, or characters; however, all OC's are mine and so is some of this story line as it is a figment of my imagination.

Chapter 2- Truth

_"No," Desmond said his voice defiant. "His name was Dominic and he was my brother."_

Silence followed Desmond's statement; even the engine seemed to become a distant hum. Rebecca wiped away an unshed tear before it could fall. Subject 16 had been the one to leave the glyphs in Ezio's memories, so the next person could find them.

"Since when have you had a brother?" Shaun's voice came from the driver's seat. His voice seemed to cut through the silence and the world moved once more.

"Since I was born Shaun." replied Desmond his tone layered in sarcasm. "Dominic was five years older than me; I also have a younger sister." Desmond paused once more; he seemed unsure if he should continue or not. Rebecca patted his shoulder before focusing on her baby again.

"So, you all lived at the Farm?" inquired Lucy. Desmond looked confused for a moment before he remembered what he had told Dr. Vidic.

"I forgot about that…" Desmond let his sentence trail off as he thought of a good way to explain. "The Farm was our home until I was 14. The new Grand Master had us move then; that was a few months before Dominic left." Shaun's head rose a few inches so he could see Desmond in the rearview mirror.

"The Grand Master? As far as I know, the Grand Master hasn't changed since twelve years ago when the newly appointed one disappeared with a group of about twenty assassins." explained Shaun as he tried racking his brain for more information. "I don't believe anyone even knows the person's name." Desmond smirked.

"I know, it was meant to be that way." Desmond said and Lucy glanced down to make sure Ezio was still asleep. No doubt the conversation would give either of their two _guests_ a major headache. "Shaun, where _exactly_ are we right now?" Desmond asked moving towards the front of the van.

"You have two eyes, look at the GPS." said Shaun as he turned his full attention back to the road. Desmond huffed in frustration before turning to Rebecca.

"Rebecca, if I gave you some coordinates could you program it to the GPS up front?" asked Desmond and Rebecca smirked.

"Easy as pie, come over here and tell me what to put in." Rebecca waved Desmond closer and he typed in the coordinates. A beeping noise alerted Shaun to the change in destination. Another beep alerted him of an upcoming turn.

Lucy stood up to take a look at the GPS and noticed that they were 20 miles from the destination Desmond had set them on. _How can we be that close?_ thought Lucy; though, she was unaware of their _true_ destination.

The small light that hung from the ceiling flickered as a young fair haired woman shuffled around the dingy basement mumbling to herself. "ARGH!" she exclaimed as she slide on a pale silk shirt that was crumpled on the bare floor. "Stupid good for nothing roommate," The woman mumbled as she picked herself up off the floor. Noticing that her once pristine white capri pants were covered in dust and other miscellaneous particles, she grumbled and headed towards the laundry room to change. Emerging back into the main storage room, the young woman noticed exactly how, for lack of a better term, messy the basement was. Deciding it would be best if she got her roommate to help, the young woman carefully made her way across the room to the wooden stairs on the opposite side. "Rosa!" she hollered when she made it to the bottom of the staircase. A shaft of light illuminated the stairwell as the door at the top opened. Rosa stared down at the woman at the bottom before looking confused.

"Lily, I thought you were wearing white pants when you went down there?" Rosa said wondering what had happened. Lily's dark chocolate eyes rolled in their sockets as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I slipped on a silk shirt that was on the floor." Lily stated. Rosa tried in vain to hold her laughter in as her blue eyes sparkled with humor. "Okay just get the hell down here and help me!" Lily huffed and walked away from the stairway towards the boxes she had been moving earlier. Creaking steps alerted Lily that Rosa was making her way down the steps and the cursing that followed the creaks was evidence she had made her way down entirely.

"_Santo merda_," Rosa cursed her choice of coming down to help. "What the hell is all this crap?" Rosa ran a hand through her short dark hair as she scanned the room for Lily in the maze of boxes. Lily's head popped up suddenly to her right and Rosa rolled her eyes before setting to work.

"Good question, I think some of the former residents just left their stuff down here." Lily said her voice soft. There had been three other separate tenants in the house before them. Several minutes passed and the only sound was the occasional curse and shifting cardboard. Lily looked up from the contents of the box she was examining as a knock sounded at their back door.

"It's almost midnight, who would want to visit right now?" Rosa said not really giving the knock much thought. A few more minutes passed by before the knocking sounded again, only this time it was a rhythmic knock. Rosa's head whipped around to face Lily, but she was already across the room opening a floor panel that dropped down into the old bomb raid shelter. Rosa stood up and ran calmly up the stairs to the first floor to set the light timer. After assuring herself they were set properly, she double checked that all the doors were secure and locked. Upon heading back down the stairs, Rosa noticed Lily helping people into the bomb shelter.

"Everything is secure and the lights are set as well." said Rosa before she herself jumped into the bomb shelter. Pitch black surrounded them all as Lily shut the panel. Rosa looked around at the shapes of the people and noticed that there were two people leaned up against the wall and their breathing patterns suggested that they were asleep or unconscious. "Who are the sleepers?" Rosa jabbed a thumb towards the slumped figures.

"Past souls…kind of, Rebecca said that the Animus 2.0 malfunctioned and they popped out." Lily explained as she lit a candle so they could find the exit to the tunnels. Rosa was able to make out Desmond's face and she glanced at the others quickly to see who they were.

"Dominic?" inquired Rosa her eyes hopeful but Desmond shook his head.

"Dead," He said simply not dwelling on the sharp pain that pierced his heart when he thought of what his brother went through. Rosa looked away from Desmond and decided to take a better look at the two past souls.

"_Dio mio_, Ezio!" Rosa exclaimed leaning beside the man checking to see if her was coming near consciousness yet. Rosa's eyes softened when she noticed the man was very close to awakening. "The other?" Rebecca checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive.

"Altair Ibn-La'Ahad," said the blond woman who had arrived with Desmond; Rosa's blue eyes widened in surprise before she snorted.

"Great, you must be Lucy Stillman." Rosa looked over at the man with glasses leaning up against the dirt wall. "Which makes you Shaun Hastings," Rosa stood up to look at Lily.

"I know, he's going to punch him." Lily smiled widely and Desmond smirked as he knew who they were talking about. "It's going to make things complicated with _her_." Lily hissed the last word and a look of disgust crossed her face. The others in the room, excluding Rosa, held a look of confusion for a few seconds before letting it drop.

"Well, now what?" Shaun asked. Lily dropped down to the floor once she had found the exit.

"We wait." She said. The rest of the group inwardly groaned and sank to the floor. Rosa sat next to Ezio and took his hand so she could hold it. Lucy watched this and thought of the question she meant to ask earlier.

"Earlier, you two mentioned past souls," Lucy paused to make sure Rosa and Lily were listening. Lily spoke before she could ask her question.

"A past soul is someone from the past who has been reborn into this world." Lily explained and Shaun looked at her intrigued.

"You mean reincarnation?" asked Shaun. Lily shook her head wisps of blond hair fell into her chocolate eyes.

"Past souls have all of their memories from their past life. Rosa is one." Lily waved a pale hand towards the woman leaning against Ezio. "The Grand Master is one who hails from the time before the Third Crusade; unfortunately, she was murdered before the Crusade started." Those in the room who had been unaware of the Grand Masters identity jerked their heads up.

"The Grand Master is a woman?" inquired Lucy. Disbelief passed across Lily's face before she spoke again.

"Uh yes, she is. Her name is Isabella." said Lily. Gears cranked into motion in Shaun's head as he stored the information. "She was born in the Middle East to an Italian father and Middle-Eastern mother. Her parents died when she was a baby and Al Mualim found her and brought her to Masyaf to be trained as an assassin."

"So she lived in Altair's time…" Shaun's voice trailed off as he processed the information. Lily noticed this and smirked; she had an idea of what Isabella would have him do while at Eagle's Nest. "Where exactly will we be going after this?"

"Eagle's Nest," said Lily. "You'll see when we get there." Lily rose up from the ground and moved to one of the shelves alongside the wall. She removed a ceramic jar and walked over to Altair. "Alright, time to wake up." She removed his hood and dumped half the jar's contents on the man causing him to start awake. "Good morning!" Lily said cheerfully as Altair glared at her. Lily moved to dump water on Ezio too but it seemed the man was already awake.

"_Ora ora_, there's no need to do that to me as well _Signorina_." Ezio held up his one free hand in defense as he spoke. A pout formed on Lily's lips; she had wanted to dump water on them both.

"Oh well," Lily said replacing the cork in the jar's opening and put it back on the shelf. Lily made her way back to the exit and sat down once more. "You two don't have to worry 'bout a thing, someone will explain everything later." Altair was still glaring at Lily, but he pulled his hood back onto his head and leaned back against the wall. Ezio, on the other hand, was staring at Rosa. She let go of his hand and smacked him upside the head.

"_Idiota_! Just ask your question!" Rosa exclaimed as a smile spread over her face. Ezio grinned before kissing her cheek.

"It is good to see you _amore_." Ezio said quietly as he did not want to be heard by the other strangers in the room. Desmond, knowing this, found it quite funny since he had been living Ezio's life the past few days. Shaun also noticed Ezio speaking to Rosa quietly and found an unanswered question suddenly become clear.

"Get a room!" Lily exclaimed from across the shelter and Ezio smiled; a separate room would be much better for him. His expression caused Rosa to smack him lightly on the cheek.

"_Pervertito_," Rosa said before continuing on. "That's Lucy Stillman, Shaun Hastings, Rebecca Crane, Lily Miles, Desmond Miles, and Altair Ibn-La'Ahad." Rosa pointed to each person as she spoke their name. Altair looked up at her when his name was spoken.

"How do you know my name?" He asked his tone making Lucy, who had been near him, scout away. Rosa rolled her eyes and was saved from answering as the lock on the exit started to move. Lily instantly moved away from it and smiled.

"About time you guys got here." She said. Laughter could be heard on the other side of the door.

"Calm down Lily, the lock is very rusty so it will take a couple of minutes." came the muffled voice of a male on the other side of the door. Lily sighed and moved to where Altair was sitting.

"Okay time to go." said Lily offering the man a hand up which he declined. Lily walked past him towards one of the wall shelves and picked up a thick, dusty volume that looked as if it had not been moved in years. Just as she did this the door opened and the man standing in the doorway cheered.

"Finally," the man said coming into the room. He recognized Desmond and clapped a hand to his broad shoulder. "Desmond, good to see that you survived." The others in the shelter were unable to see the man's face as he kept his back to them. "Dominic?" He asked and Desmond shook his head. "I see," His eyes went to the floor.

"Though there is someone else you know." said Desmond and the man nodded towards him. Lily smacked the man's back as she came up beside him.

"I suggest we get out of here _before _any of the Templars find us." Lily said putting to words what everyone else was thinking. The man nodded and left the shelter to help the others out. Lily followed him and jumped out of the doorframe to land in a candlelit hallway. She walked a few steps before stretching her arms above her head. Desmond followed behind her, then Lucy, Rebecca, Shaun, Rosa, Ezio, and Altair left the shelter last. The man who had opened the door stepped back a little when Altair came before he grinned evilly, made a fist with his left hand, and punched it to the palm of his right.

"Good to see you الصنو ." He said before punching Altair in the face. The others in the group spun around to see Altair stagger back in surprise before realization dawned on his face.

"Malik," Altair paused to regain his composure. Malik nodded towards him before placing a hand on the man's shoulder.

"It is truly good to see you again." said Malik though he sounded disappointed. Lily laughed and received odd looks from the others.

"We should really go." She said her voice holding a hint of urgency in it. Malik nodded and he turned to the door and bolted it shut.

"Then let us go." Malik said waving towards the others in a signal to follow him. Altair followed behind him.

"Malik, how are you here?" asked Altair. Malik looked over his shoulder to gaze at his fellow assassin.

"I'll explain when we get there." He assured Altair before facing forward again. Lucy tapped Lily on the shoulder and the young woman turned to face her.

"What's up?" asked Lily happily. She was excited to be going home.

"Earlier, Rosa said your last name was Miles. Are you Desmond sister?" inquired Lucy. Lily nodded.

"I'm two years younger than him." She explained and Lucy thought of another question to ask her.

"How long is going to take us to get to Eagle's Nest?" Lucy asked. Lily stayed quiet for a few moments before answering.

"An few hours, we'll remain on this path for a few more minutes before we transfer to a vehicle that will take us about five miles away from the city." Lily explained and she turned back around.

Quiet surrounded the outpost for travel into Eagle's Nest as the two assigned were watching the tunnel entrance. One of the two, a petite brunette female, looked to her partner as the hours seemed to drag on. "Malik left hours ago, he should be back soon." She said her soft voice breaking the silence. The dark haired man on the other side of their little "building", if you could really call it that, looked up at her.

"Yes he should, your awfully impatient Abrianna." He said his voice much quieter than one would expect from his appearance. Abrianna snorted in response.

"Yeah, well, I kind of have a life." She said sarcastically as figures appeared in the distance. She shot up out of her chair and grabbed a pair of binoculars that were laying on the small wooden table beside her. "It's Malik and his group." The man who had spoken before nodded and stood. "Eoin, what the hell are you doing?" Abrianna asked setting the binoculars back down. Eoin ignored her and walked outside. Abrianna groaned in frustration and followed the silent Eoin.

"I want to be outside when they arrive." These were the words Eoin said when Abrianna came and stood beside him. She shrugged her shoulders and wished for the group to walk faster. Minutes passed and finally the group was within in talking distance.

"Abrianna…Eoin." Malik nodded to each of them and they nodded in return. "Had Isabella returned yet?" Abrianna stepped forward.

"Chen was here about twenty minutes ago. He said she had returned a few hours ago and was attending to some matters at Eagle's Nest." Abrianna said her voice holding a somewhat bored tone. Malik nodded.

"When will the next shift be here?" asked Malik. Eoin stepped forward this time.

"Twenty minutes," He said before turning his attention to the group behind Malik. Eight people stood behind Malik and Eoin saw that only three, plus Malik, were wearing assassin's robes. Malik noticed where Eoin was gazing and shook his head.

"Well, we will be on our way now." Malik nodded to both assassins before beckoning those behind him forward. In small groups they proceeded forward and followed Malik past the small building. Lily noticed Shaun staring at the building.

"It's a guard house Shaun." She said and Shaun looked away.

"We're close?" he inquired. Lily smiled and shrugged.

"You'll see." She said. Rebecca looked towards Shaun.

"Hey Shaun, if it's a city….shouldn't we be heading up sometime?" inquired Rebecca. Shaun didn't have an answer for her. He had heard the name Eagle's Nest before, but was never able to find anything on it.

"One would think," Shaun replied and after a few minutes of silence a large stone gate cast it shadow over the group. A man stood to one side of the gate and a woman at the other. They watched the group as they approached.

"Welcome back Malik, the Grand Master awaits you in the inner city." The woman said stepping forward. Her brown hair cascaded down her back freely and her emerald eyes sparkled as she observed the group. The man had short, cropped blond hair and blue eyes the color of the sky. He nodded towards them and went into the small building next to the gate. Gears were heard turning and the stone gate creaked open. Malik motioned the group to follow and they walked through the gate.

"Wow…" Those who had not been to Eagle's Nest whispered as they took in the sprawling city below them. Malik turned to face them smiling.

"Welcome to Eagle's Nest."

A/N- YAY! This took several hours yesterday and all of today to write…my parents seem to need me when I am always doing something. So now we know what Eagle's Nest is anywho thanks again to my friend Liz for pushing me to write this story! I am glad I did. This chapter is quite a bit longer and introduces quite a few characters to the story! Okay the words in italics, that aren't in English, are in Italian. Here are the translations:

Santo Merda- Holy Shit

Dio Mio- My God

Ora Ora- Now now

Signorina- Miss

Idiota- idiot

Amore- Love

Pervertito- Pervert

And the random Arabic word means brother, I would put it here but it makes my laptop type backwards so I am going to forgo that. Well, REVIEW! I love hearing what people have to say!

~LadyRin98790


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- I do not own Assassin's Creed, its storyline, or characters; however, all OC's are mine and so is some of this story line as it is a figment of my imagination.

Chapter 3- Grand Master

_"Welcome to Eagle's Nest." _

_An underground city,_ this thought was unanimous throughout the minds of those in the group who had never been to Eagle's Nest. They all followed Malik through the winding streets. Stone buildings lined each side of the street and due to the early time, there was no one out to peer at the newcomers. Of course there were unseen watchers hiding among the shadows. They watched as Malik lead them to the main building in the northern part of the city. The magnificent stone building towered above the other by a few hundred feet. The main doors stood six feet above their heads and assassins could be seen pacing in non-repetitive patterns. An assassin dropped down from the second tier of walkways and jogged to greet the group.

"She told me to come and greet you." The assassin said giving way her gender. She removed her hood so the group could see her face. Her red hair ran to her shoulders and some of it was pulled up so it would not stray into her eyes. Green eyes examined the group as they examined her. She was a couple of inches shorter than Lily, who is only 5'7". "My name is Kacey," the woman said and Desmond, who had been wondering why she was familiar, remembered her as being one of his sisters friends. Kacey came closer and whispered something into Malik's ear. Judging by the look on his face, it was not something he apparently _wanted _to hear.

"I see," Malik scowled. Kacey stood patiently waiting for him to speak again. "I suppose we will have to go see her now….or she won't sleep until we do." The last bit was whispered and only Altair and Rebecca, who were closest to Malik, heard.

"Alright, please follow me." Said Kacey as she turned around, but half a second later she was facing them again. "Also please refrain from touching anything." Kacey turned round once more and walked forward, not bothering to even check if the group was following her.

A young girl wearing jeans and a plain white tank top ran swiftly by the group lead by Kacey. Kacey recognized her and called out. "Avery!" The girl skidded to a halt and turned to face whoever had called out her name.

"Oh, good, uh, morning Kacey," Avery said bowing slightly to be polite. Kacey noticed that Avery's amber eyes were slightly hazy as if she had just gotten up mere moments ago.

"What are you doing out this early Avery?" inquired Kacey as she continued walking and those behind her followed. Avery waited till Kacey was beside her and resumed walking in step with her.

"My master asked me to deliver…a message." Avery managed to say as she fought a yawn. Kacey shook her head in disapproval. She only hoped that given the mood _her_ master was in that she wouldn't bite the young blonde's head off. Malik patted the young girl on the shoulder and she looked up and back at him.

"Oh hello Master Malik," Avery said in greeting as she smiled warmly at the older man.

"What is it that your…master wanted?" inquired Malik as he pondered if Avery's master had told her the details of the message. Avery shook her head causing her blond hair to sway around her shoulders.

"No, but I am sure it wasn't that urgent or she would have delivered it herself." Avery said as they came to the end of a hallway and turned left into a heavily guarded one. There were both regularly dressed persons and those who wore assassins' robes. They were intermixed on either side and as they passed each alcove in the hallway, the guards on either side would examine all group members thoroughly with their eyes, merely scanning to check for hidden weapons. After passing by many silent guards, they came to the last pair of a woman and man. The woman wore the garb of the assassins and the man wore a pair of jeans, a white dress shirt that had the few top buttons undone, and a necklace with the pendent of the Templars hanging from it.

"Welcome," The woman said in greeting her olive toned skin bringing out her emerald eyes and dark amber hair. Kacey nodded in return. "I am Olivia and this is Daniel." She waved a hand towards the man with the templar necklace and he nodded in greeting. The man noticed Avery standing next to Kacey and spoke.

"Avery, why are you out of bed? It's three in the morning…" Daniel's voice trailed off as the door behind them opened and a young woman of about seventeen years stepped out.

"Hello, please come in." She said sleepily and waved the group in. "Avery if you give me the letter, I'll make sure it gets where it supposed to go, and you can return home." Avery smiled gratefully at the drowsy young woman and handed a sealed envelope over to her waiting hand. The young woman accepted the envelope and Avery bowed before taking off down the hallway.

"Alexis," Kacey started before the young woman interrupted her by holding up one pale hand. She turned away and closed the heavy oak doors before facing them again.

"Follow me," Alexis said leading them down the lit hallway into a large room. Bookcases lined the farthest wall from the door and a desk sat in front of a large glass window. The desk was covered with papers and folders of hues and letters in different sized envelopes. "Forgive us, but we were not expecting you so quickly. My master retired a few minutes ago, but she is one her way." Alexis explained leading them to a good sized sitting area for about twelve people. "Please have a seat." Alexis waited until all were seated before she herself took a seat. Altair had taken a seat beside Malik on the couch that could fit four, Ezio and Rosa sat beside them. Across from them sat, in this order, Desmond, Lucy, Rebecca, and Shaun. Lily, Kacey, and Alexis sat on the couch for three that faced the window behind the desk. A single plush chair remained empty. Desmond and the others he sat with were facing the door they had just come in and Malik and those he sat with were facing the towering bookshelves. A single dark wooden door rest between the space were the last bookshelf ended and the wall that held the large window. Malik stared at the door knowing that was the door the Grand Master would enter from. The door suddenly opened and a tanned woman entered the room wearing a long silk blue robe that was tied loosely at her slender waist, a white camisole, and a pair of light blue pajama bottoms. Her black hair fell in a messy braid over her left shoulder and wisps of hair framed her face. Warm, but sleepy, brown eyes scanned the room and rested on the group that was seated. She made her way over as Malik and Desmond stood.

"Malik, I am glad you made it here safely." She patted Malik on the shoulder before turning away and walking up to Desmond. "It is good to see you alive and well Desmond, I only wish Dominic was as well." Desmond nodded and the woman smiled at him before pulling him into an embrace. Desmond returned the hug and released the woman. "Lily, good to see you as well," Lily smiled widely at the woman. "Rosa," the woman made a quarter turn to face Rosa and noticed Ezio beside her. "And I see you have brought Ezio back with you as well." The woman paused as she reached Altair. She rubbed her eyes as if not sure what she saw was before her. Alexis choose this moment to speak up.

"Master, Avery was here with a letter for you." Alexis said softly but loud enough to be heard. The woman snapped out of whatever had a spell over her and whirled around.

"Where is it?" she inquired. Alexis stood and handed her the envelope. The woman took hold of it and sighed. "You have got to be kidding me; this is the third one she's sent me." Malik looked up at this.

"The third?" asked Malik and the woman nodded.

"I believe she intends to make sure I don't sleep." She said sarcastically though there seemed to be a hate hidden in her heart for whoever kept bugging her.

"You do that well enough on your own Isabella." Malik said jokingly and the woman stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh very mature, you are twenty-seven years old. Act like it." Isabella laughed quietly.

"I do act like it. I am running this organization am I not?" Isabella asked with the twinkle of amusement in her brown eyes. The rest present just ignored the prattle between the old friends; however, Altair stared at the woman.

_She is familiar, I feel like I should know her…_, His thoughts drifted off as he tried to recall the fuzzy memories of his youth. Shaun noticed Altair not paying attention and wondered if the former Grand Master knew the current one. Shaun racked his memory trying to remember if there had been and Isabella anywhere in Masyaf.

"Excuse me," Lucy spook up breaking the silence that enveloped the room. Isabella looked at her.

"Yes?" she asked and Lucy continued.

"You are a past soul, like Malik?" inquired Lucy and Isabella nodded.

"Yes I am." Isabella answered and she smiled at the woman. "You are very observant to have noticed that; though I am guessing you must have forgotten that Lily told you?" Lucy nodded; the journey to Eagle's nest had been long. "I was born to an Italian father and Middle-Eastern mother. My father had been a travelling merchant and my mother had come from Masyaf. She had not been trained to be an assassin; she was healer. They…were killed when I was three by Templar Knights because my father had objected to them killing a villager where we had lived. Al Mualim found me and brought me back to Masyaf. I died before anyone even knew of his betrayal." Isabella stopped here but Lucy felt that something was missing from the story. Surprisingly, or maybe not, Shaun voiced the next question.

"Forgive me for prying into your personal life, but were you, perhaps, married to anyone during your life in Masyaf?" inquired Shaun and Isabella seemed to freeze.

"Yes," she whispered before going silent. Malik's eyes became unbearably sad at this point.

"Isabella was…murdered because another assassin was obsessed with her and didn't like the man she was married too. He was mentally insane and a stalker." explained Malik using terms that would describe the man now.

"What Malik says is true though he left out the part where I was three and half months pregnant when I died. My husband learned of this…mere moments after I died in his arms." Isabella said finishing her sad tale. "Though I did kill the bastard before I passed," She said smiling as she had been able to kill the man who killed her and her unborn child. Those listening, even the ones who had heard the story before, remained silent. Ezio looked up quickly as he had just remembered something.

"_Aspetta un momento_, I have heard your story before." Ezio paused and Isabella looked at him as he was crazy.

"I lived many centuries before you did," Isabella paused as the man held up a hand.

"No I am sure. It was in the Codex." Ezio explained and Altair, who had written the codex, looked at his descendent confusion written on his face. Realization dawned after the man thought more. Isabella yelped when the assassin came over to her and pulled her out of the chair she was sitting in.

"What the hell?" Isabella's voice was muffled as Altair pulled her into a tight embrace.

"You had expected me to remember right away. I am sorry." Altair whispered into her ear softly so no one else would hear. Isabella nodded into his chest and returned his hug.

"It's alright; I know my death affected you greatly. Malik said it had made you an arrogant bastard. Though I am not sure how that worked." Isabella said as she moved her head to the side so she could speak and breathe. Malik cleared his throat loudly and Isabella stood on her tiptoes to glare at him over Altair's shoulder.

"Do you mind? We have a lot to discuss." Malik pointed out and Isabella pulled herself away from Altair's warm embrace. Shaun was lost in thought as he wondered why he had not seen the story in the codex as well.

"It is early or very late as some chose to say." Isabella said still standing next to Altair. "I will let you all rest, you need it. Especially since you all have to write a report." Lily groaned and Desmond slumped against the couch. "I will give you two days time to work on them. Ezio and Altair are not required to give me a report." Lily mumbled something under her breath that made Kacey and Alexis start laughing; however, Isabella gave them a death glare that made them shut up instantly. "Once I have reviewed these reports, I will make sure you are each assigned somewhere you will do the most good; though, I will still need Desmond to explore the memories of his ancestors so we can locate the missing Codex Pages." Isabella waved a hand towards the back wall where ten of the thirty Codex Pages were displayed behind a see-through glass plate. "Alexis," The young woman looked up at the sound of her name. "Take those who do not know their way around to their rooms. Now I am going to go to bed before Malik has a heart attack about my health." Malik glared at the Grand Master.

"Going a week without sleep is dangerous." Malik said his tone chastising one in a position of authority above himself. Isabella nodded, but her primary concern was making sure everyone is safe.

"Alright I'll go sleep." Isabella said heading towards the door she had entered through. Altair, unsure of where he was to go, made to follow Alexis before Isabella called out to him. "Altair," She sighed and motioned him towards her. He approached and she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door. She could hear the comments of everyone in the room but it didn't matter. Altair was married to her and her alone; he would stay with her.

A/N- Yay for updating! Thanks to Nameless Dreamer for reviewing chapters 1 and 2 and also all of you who have viewed the story but not reviewed! I would love to hear your thoughts so please! Leave a review! Anywho, I hope everyone likes the Grand Master :D I like Maria...but not that much. She's okay but when you kind of create a character in your head...you tend to like them better. I hope to update again soon! Actually I hadn't planned on writing this so quickly...but I felt like writing and no I am tired...oh wait I forgot.

_Aspetta un momento- means Wait a moment_

I suppose I shouldn't make you work to have to know what the Italian means...I have never taken Italian..I just use an online translator :D anyway, please review!

~LadyRin98790


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